In the field of semiconductor, flat-panel display, or other electronic device processing, vapor deposition processes have played an important role in depositing materials on substrates. As the geometries of electronic devices continue to shrink and the density of devices continue to increase, overall feature size has decreased and aspect ratio has increased. While conventional chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes have proved successful, shrinking device geometries require an alternative deposition technique, such as atomic layer deposition (ALD).
A conventional ALD process involves sequentially exposing a substrate to chemical precursors and reactants. Typically, a chemical precursor is provided to a process chamber having a substrate, which is adsorbed onto the surfaces of the substrate. A reactant is then provided to the process chamber, which reacts with the chemical precursor, resulting in a deposition of material.
ALD processes generally allow for improved coverage of surfaces within substrate features over a conventional CVD process. However, ALD process typically have slower deposition rates than comparable CVD processes for depositing materials having similar compositions.
Therefore, a need exists for an improved method of processing substrates using ALD.